DVD Players: Reviews

Updated November 2011

While the focus for home disc players has shifted to Blu-ray, DVDs remain the chief way most families enjoy movies at home. Our report on DVD players sifts through the top choices based on user reports and expert opinions. We also compare standard players to Blu-ray players, which can also play standard DVD discs.

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Best DVD player

Sony DVP-SR500H

*Est. $50 Compare Prices

Among standard DVD players, the Sony DVP-SR500H is about the best you can do without moving up to Blu-ray. The Sony DVP-SR500H is an upconverting DVD player, so it can scale a standard-definition DVD to match the higher… expandresolution of an HDTV. It supports DVDs, CDs, MP3s and JPEG picture slideshows, and reviewers love the playback-resume feature, which remembers where you left off for up to six DVDs. Users say the Sony DVP-SR500H is easy to set up, and its compact design won't take up much space in your home entertainment center. Some owners do wish the remote control had an eject button, and we saw a few complaints that the DVD player freezes far too often. A few complain of players that have died after a short time. collapse

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Expert & User Review Sources:

Amazon.com: The Sony DVP-SR500H enjoys a 3.8-star rating after about 140 reviews at Amazon.com.

Walmart.com: Walmart.com is another good source for user reviews of the Sony DVP-SR500H. More than 80 owners have weighed in so far, and the Sony DVD player enjoys a 4.2-star rating.

BestBuy.com: Users at BestBuy.com give the Sony DVP-SR500H an overall rating of 4.5 stars after more than 35 reviews.

About.com: Robert Silva, the home theater guide at About.com, says the Sony DVP-SR500H is one of the best DVD players on the market.

BHPhotoVideo.com: The Sony DVP-SR500H maintains a 3.5-star rating after more than a dozen reviews at online retailer B&H Photo and Video.

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Cheap DVD player

Sony DVP-SR200P/B

*Est. $35 Compare Prices

If you don't care that much about picture quality and just need a cheap player for the kids or for a second TV, This basic Sony DVD player earns kudos for its performance and ease of use, which makes it one of the… expandtop-rated DVD players at several online retailers. You won't find a lot of extras, but this player does have features that help it read old or scratched DVDs. While this Sony player can't upconvert standard-definition DVDs, most HDTVs can handle that task on their own pretty well. This DVD player can output video in the progressive format for compatible TVs. It's missing some connectivity options, but unless you're hooking up this DVD player to an HDTV or a home theater system, you probably won't need those outputs anyway. collapse

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Expert & User Review Sources:

Amazon.com: More than 350 owners have weighed in on the Sony DVP-SR200P/B DVD player at Amazon.com, granting the player a solid 4-star overall rating.

BestBuy.com: BestBuy.com has fewer reviews than Amazon.com, just over 120, but the Sony DVP-SR200P/B scores even a shade higher, at 4.2 out of 5, and notably higher than any other current and available DVD player in its price class.

Walmart.com: Walmart.com hosts nearly as many user reviews as Amazon.com, and user opinion is similar -- most but not all owners are pleased with the Sony DVP-SR200P/B, rating it at 4.3 out of 5.

JR.com: The J&R website only attracts 30 owner reviews of the Sony DVP-SR200P/B, but what's here is valuable when considered with feedback collected elsewhere.

BHPhotoVideo.com: The Sony DVP-SR200P/B enjoys a 4.7-star rating at B&H after more than 30 reviews.

TigerDirect.com: Just over 20 owners review the Sony DVP-SR200P/B at TigerDirect.com, but opinions echo those at the other online retailers, resulting in a 4.3-star overall rating.

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